​SKIPPER NEWS

If you spent time on campus, chances are you’ve seen Kamille Fernando’s artistic work. From performances in the fall play to the flyers she’s designed around school to the club sweatshirt for Skipper TV, the junior’s work is on display.

“I taught myself to draw from a young age, since my siblings also had an interest in art,” Kamille said. “Since I grew up with technology, I have always roamed the Internet, searching for artistic inspiration, especially on media sites like Tumblr, Instagram, and Google.”

Kamille’s latest design is seen school-wide on the t-shirts students and staff are wearing in support of this year’s theme: Embracing Our Roots: Rooted in Love, Rooted in Mercy.

During the annual Campus Leadership Team overnight in August, Kamille joined the design committee on CLT. The design committee members - Natalie R., Alex L., Amanda N., Janelle F., Anais G., Anna O., Margaret L., Catie S., and Joivenae U. - brainstormed ideas for a design that would bring life to the theme.

​“At first, we decided to draw individually, what we wanted the design to look like, but I ended up volunteering to photoshop the design on my laptop,” Kamille said. “All of these people really helped by giving me their opinions and ideas, so that I could input them into the overall shirt design.”

Kamille also took to the internet and began gathering inspiration and designing.

“Everyone knew Embrace your Roots had to have some nature dynamic, whether that be roots or trees or leaves. I eagerly started browsing through nature graphic design images on Google,” she said. “At that moment, that's when I was inspired by the vast amount of artwork with roots shaped in a heart, or a tree whose branches created a heart shape.”

The design is white on a dark grey shirt and features a tree with branches that form into a heart and with the words “Rooted in Love. Rooted in Mercy.” on the back.

“It really pleases me whenever I hear someone say they like the shirt this year. So far, all I have heard is positive feedback about the themed artwork, the shirt color, and the overall message the design retains about Mercy's theme,” she said. “I am just really thankful to have been given the opportunity to design such a thing for the school, and for those who helped in the process of it.”​​​